Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Lawyers
by Liz O’Donnell (Boston)
Women lawyers continue to struggle for equality at work such as equal pay and equal opportunities to make partner. Every generation makes a few more cracks in the glass ceiling for the one that follows. In fact, this fall, women are expected to surpass the number of male students entering law school. But the generation behind them, have other plans.
Gina Hayes, a patent and trademark attorney, thinks her daughter Amber would make a great lawyer. “The way her mind is, she’s real detailed. She definitely reminds me of me,” says Gina of her 11-year-old daughter.
The eleven-year-old girl only has eyes for horses. She has spent several summers riding and caring for horses at the Fox Chase Farm in Virginia. When she grows up, she wants to be a veterinarian. She is a strong rider and working toward becoming a jockey.
Gina sounds like a good role model. She works 40 – 50 hours per week on flex time and she loves what she does. She has tried to give her daughter other career ideas, but Amber isn’t listening. In fact, Gina has taken Amber into the courthouse and she says that while Amber was fascinated, she was not swayed.
“She will get a good work ethic from me,” says Gina. “She knows it takes work to pay bills and she understands the value of money.”
Ultimately, Gina’s not too concerned about her daughter’s career choices. As long as her daughter goes to college and gets a solid education, Gina will be happy.
Vivian Hoard and her husband are both tax attorneys in Georgia. However, Vivian runs a toy company called Catnap Kitties in her spare time. Her nine-year-old daughter wants to follow in her mother’s footsteps – not into law, into toys.
“My daughter is just nine but she has definitely decided she wants to run my toy company when she turns 18. Her father and I told her she would have to go to college first and get a business degree,” says Hoard. “My daughter has gotten the business bug from my project. She wants to know about the patent process, the off shore manufacturing process, and particularly sales and marketing. She likes marketing and sales, so we will see what happens in the future.”
Marilyn Hochman, who practices crisis law in Florida, tells a similar story. Her daughters age 17 and 12, have their own career ideas. “The oldest one is very interested in photography and the arts. The younger one wants to be a famous actress. Neither are interested in going into the legal field,” says Hochman.
The number of female lawyers are growing but inequity still exists in the legal profession. As we’ve previously reported, women are not being promoted to partner at the same rate as men. Are our daughters in tune to the subtleties in the workplace? Can they pick up on the fact that Mom might not be as valued as she should be at work? Or does the younger generation just place a higher value on creativity and personal freedom than earlier generations?
Several years ago, Simmons College School of Management surveyed middle school and high school students on their future career plans. The study found 55 percent of girls said an opportunity for “making the world a better place” is highly important in their choice of a career. Most notable, however, was focus groups conducted as part of the study revealed girls were more likely than boys to describe life in business as “constraining, boring or stressful.”
No matter what the driver is in these young girls decision-making process, it will be fascinating to watch them transform into tomorrow’s role models.
